The concept of the mind in philosophy encompasses a diverse range of theories and perspectives, examining its immaterial nature, unitary function, self-activity, self-consciousness, and persistence despite bodily changes. This paper explores the attributes of the mind, addressing classical materialism, dualism, and behaviorism, along with contemporary theories like functionalism and computational functionalism. Key philosophical debates include the mind-body problem, the subjectivity of mental states, and the epistemological and conceptual challenges in understanding other minds. Contrasting views from Aristotle, Descartes, Wittgenstein, and modern (...) philosophers like U.T. Place, Gilbert Ryle, and Hilary Putnam are analyzed. The paper also discusses the implications of these theories on our understanding of mental phenomena, consciousness, and the nature of human experience. (shrink)

This essay explores the inherent blankness of life, describing it as devoid of fixed meaning, purpose, or morality. It discusses how humans struggle with this blankness, often attempting to avoid or fill it through various activities and pursuits. The essay distinguishes between natural biological activities and those driven by fear and anxiety, emphasizing how societal conditioning contributes to the latter. It delves into the role of rationality in avoiding blankness, the discomfort of silence, and the vibrancy that this blankness holds. (...) Ultimately, it advocates for embracing this blankness as a source of freedom, vitality, and profound insight into the nature of existence. (shrink)

The subject of analysis for this essay is the leanness of the concept of pride and humility and the argument that each of these extremes create imbalance and stifle identity. Humility involves a feeling of low self-worth in order to seek the approval of others and leads to blurring of personal identity, whereas arrogance, results in paranoia, which denies the individual contact and flexibility. Based on the flow and change (Pallas), on the one hand, and the Taoist concept of Laozi (...) on the other hand, the essay developed the notion of fluidity for being an individual. A fluid individual is neither rigidly defined by humbleness, nor is having to deal with arrogance, but rather can balance between the two in certain context and/or role and at the same time be genuine. This framework can provide a fair approach regarding the issue of autonomy and richness of the individual’s self-fulfilment. (shrink)

Analytical study on the concept of reincarnation in Indic philosophy.

This paper aims to reveal the point of contact between modern science and ancient Indian philosophy, namely quantum mechanics and Advaita Vedanta and Sunyavada in particular. Modern quantum research discloses the essential characteristics of quantum mechanics that disprove classical determinism and find out the relations between energy, entropy, and observations, wave-particle duality, and entanglement. These ideas have some similarity with Advaita Vedanta’s non-dualism (Maya) and Buddhism’s relational existence (Sunyavada) yet there lacks investigation of how either paradigms interface to develop their (...) conceptual epistemology and ontological nexus. This paper recognises the issue of the bridging of these two perspectives, suggests Energetic Relational Ontology as a solution, and presents a new concept, Quantum-Metaphysical Cohesion, through which energy, consciousness and reality can be seen as one. (shrink)

This article focuses on the interaction between man and machine, AI specifically, to analyse how these systems are slowly taking over roles that hitherto were thought ‘only’ for humans. More recent, as AI has stepped up in ability to learn without supervision, to recognize patterns, and to solve problems, it adopted characteristics like creativity, novelty, intentionality. These events take one to the heart of what it is to be human, and the emerging definitions of self that are increasingly central to (...) post humanist discourses. The discussion in these two threads is in philosophy of AI and is concerned with issues of consciousness, intentionality and creativity. Al as a result of causing a shift in the current anthropocentric perceptions resulted in portrayal of humans as special beings. Secondly, this exploration responds to important questions related to AI application, such as ethical, social, and existential ones. The article emphasizes a necessity to define the role of the advent of AI and its influence on the interaction between people and technology as well as the role of the social individuality in the wake of intelligent machines that mimic thinking and creativity. It seeks to prompt more specific analysis of how or why AI reduces the differences between artificial and human intelligence or increases the prospects for options expanding the notion of consciousness beyond the human-centric one. (shrink)

Verse work on Hindu philosophy and spirituality.

In this volume the editors gather diverse perspectives on one agreed-upon condition: that the computational power of today's world has fundamentally transformed all aspects of this very world. This requires the investigation and questioning not only of the possible sites of critique but also of the concept of critique as such. If there used to be a critical subject constituted in the cultural techniques of modernity, and if digitality, as a condition, indicates itself as a product of modernity while at (...) the same time somehow being its very ending, what are the determinable ramifications? Digitality severely alters the critical subject and its spatio-temporal relations, and therefore interferes with its potentiality to be a critical subject. The authors of this volume therefore do not proclaim a crisis of critique, but rather ask how and what critique in the digital might be, to then look at specific settings of critique and critical practices. With contributions by Clemens Apprich, Timon Beyes, Mark Hansen, Erich Hörl, Holger Kuhn, Luciana Parisi, Ying Sze Pek, Claus Pias, Nelly Y. Pinkrah, Judith Sieber, Lotte Warnsholdt. (shrink)

The aim of this chapter is to describe a type of law governing involuntary treatment that is based on decision-making capability and not on risk of harm to self or others. It is consistent with the legal and ethical principles followed in general medicine, and non-discriminatory against people with a mental illness. The rationale behind the proposal is outlined, as well as its principles and main features. It is argued that this type of law could be adapted to the needs (...) of low and middle-income countries without sacrificing its underlying principles, and that it lends itself to such adaptation much better than traditional mental health legislation. (shrink)

Papers presented at an international seminar held at IIT, Chennai, during Dec. 19-20, 2009.

Seminar papers; on the contribution of Rāhula Sāṅkr̥tyāyana, 1893-1963 to Buddhist philosophy and literature.

Commentary on Brahmasūtra of Bādarāyaṇa from Vallabhachars view point.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Lives Saved, With a Little Help from FriendsPrasanta TripathyIn November 2000, Jharkhand was carved out of Bihar, a state in eastern India, to be a separate state to fulfill the aspirations of its people and [End Page 109] allay their feeling of alienation. It was a good time for me to reflect on how best I could contribute. In 2002 Ekjut, a registered development organization, was set up by (...) myself and other like-minded colleagues. Ekjut, which means "togetherness," was the outcome of a longstanding desire to do something on our own, something that was close to my heart—doing something for and with the people I had grown up with. An invisible cord kept me attached to this region of India and after stints with a few development organizations within and outside the state, my wife, Nirmala, and I decided to relocate to a village near my hometown, Chakradharpur.Chakradharpur is a small railway township in South Bihar where I spent all my childhood and days of schooling. Beyond the periphery of this township and its satellite market place, live indigenous people, the Adivasi, in villages and hamlets. Even as children we could appreciate the government policy that protected them in the sense that their ancestral lands could not be acquired by Dikus, the non-tribal people living in the towns and cities. The un-spoilt bounties of nature protected and preserved by the original inhabitants of the land—the Adivasi people—was there for all of us to see and enjoy.A rumor that a doctor couple was building a nursing home led to a regular flow of men, women and children to our unfinished home with all kinds of ailments, including medical emergencies. It was becoming increasingly difficult to cope with the workload of constructing the house and at the same time—overwhelming to see children dying in our home, which was never meant to be the hospital that the villagers thought it to be. They were reluctant to visit the government hospitals, which were primarily meant to serve poor people and their attitude could be summarized in just one word—fatalism. We wanted this to change—they somehow needed to understand their rights and entitlements. The public health care system had to be strengthened and Nitmala and I wondered how our work could make this happen.The Adivasi people were soon to become partnering communities with Ekjut. It did not take us long to realize how unprotected they were. We had a vague idea that we wanted to build healthier communities. Providing full-time curative care was not an option; it was also beyond our means. Knowing that strengthening the health system would take time, we hoped that our community-based work would strengthen the demand side, since even the minimum services that were available were grossly under-utilized.India is home to about 10 million tribal people. We had seen and also knew that their health status was poor and that tribal people have the disproportionate burden of child mortality, malnutrition, malaria and death in childbirth. But we could not find a reliable existing data base that could guide our work. The health status of women and children soon became Ekjut's main concern.We wanted our work to generate knowledge that would be relevant in a wider context. Adivasis are not a monolithic entity and our evidence needed to grow from working with several different tribal groups. We needed to build our research capabilities and willingness to work with several different indigenous groups, as well as, the poor people living alongside them in different districts. A collaboration with University College of London was soon to follow. Professor Anthony Costello who was my teacher more than a decade back, invited me to partner with his department and jointly bid for a grant. This grant was likely to come at the confluence of several interesting developments. First, the self-help group movement in India had made a substantial jump and such groups existed in almost every village. Second, a grassroots organization called PRADAN was working with women's groups to strengthen their livelihoods in several states of India including our district. PRADAN shared with... (shrink)

The exploration of the mind is a fundamental pursuit spanning philosophy and psychology, with implications reaching into diverse practical realms. This paper delves into the intricacies of mental states, examining historical perspectives from ancient philosophers to modern theorists. Philosophical inquiries into intentionality, consciousness, and the nature of mental phenomena are scrutinized, alongside empirical investigations by psychologists. The discourse navigates through contrasting theories such as dualism, materialism, and functionalism, shedding light on the challenges of reconciling subjective experiences with objective observations. The (...) problem of other minds and the tension between internalism and externalism are dissected, revealing the complex interplay between individual cognition and external influences. Ultimately, this analysis underscores the intricate nature of philosophical inquiries into consciousness and the mind. (shrink)

Contributed seminar papers; seminar organized by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan.

On doctrine and concept of doubt in Indian philosophy; seminar papers.